One of the most revered leaders across the political spectrum in India was Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The tall leader has passed away, an official verification has also been made. This is the saddest day not just for his party (BJP) but also for the whole nation.
Vajpayee’s first exposure to politics came as early as in 1942 when the British government arrested him for 23 days for participating in Quit Indian Movement. When the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) was banned, Mr. Vajpayee took the charge to revive the organisation.
Along with Deendayal Upadhyay, he formed a right-wing political party “Bharatiya Jan Sangh”, which later became Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) on April 6, 1980.
The 93-year-old’s health started deteriorating since Tuesday and is in critical condition, an official statement by AIIMS on Wednesday evening. Mr Vajpayee was admitted to the AIIMS on June 11 owing to a kidney tract infection, chest congestion and urine output on the lower side as confirmed by the hospital doctors. Today, he passed away as his heath got worsened.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee served as the Prime Minister of India for three times, first for a term of 13 days in the year 1996 and for a period of 11 months from 1998 to 1999, and then he extended his contributions from 1998 to 2004.
He was a prominent member of the Indian Parliament for over 4 decades, being elected to the Lok Sabha, the lower house, ten times, and twice to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house. He served as the Member of Parliament for Lucknow, UP until 2009 when he called it quits from politics owing to health concerns.
Mr. Vajpayee was conferred India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, by the President of India in 2014. It was officially declared by the Modi government in 2014 that Vajpayee’s birthday on December 25 would be remembered as Good Governance Day.
